1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a drape support or agitator for making surgical slush. More particularly, this invention pertains to a drape support mechanism or agitator attached to a drape and configured to removably attach to a surgical slush machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
The medical profession performs transplants and other surgeries in which a sterile slush solution is used. The slush is made by lowing the temperature of a saline solution in a refrigerated device that typically includes means for dislodging the congealed sterile slush solution from the sides of a slush basin. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,962, issued to Faries, Jr., et al., on Oct. 17, 1995, titled “Sterile drape for use in making surgical slush.” The '962 patent discloses a machine used for producing and collecting sterile surgical slush. The machine includes a disk 19 with an attached sterile drape 17 that is used in a refrigerated basin 11. The disk 19 is moved repeatedly up and down and slush forms on the drape 17 adjacent the side walls and is prevented from solidifying into ice by the reciprocating movement of the disk 19. U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,820, issued to Faries, Jr., et al., on Jul. 26, 1994, titled “Method and apparatus for forming and collecting surgical slush,” is the parent patent of the '962 patent.
The '962 and '980 patents identify the typical requirements for a disk 19 and attached sterile drape 17. In particular, the sterile drape material must be impervious to the solution used to make the slush and must remain flexible at the temperature used to make the slush. The drape material must also have sufficient tensile strength to resist tearing and puncturing during use. It is desirable for the material of the sterile drape to be such that ice does not readily adhere to it during slush formation. Typical drape materials disclosed in these patents include polyurethane, polyvinylchloride, thermoplastic olefins, polyethylene, polypropylene, copolymers of propylene, and polyethylene.
The '962 patent requires that the reciprocating disk 19 be “sufficiently rigid to support the pile of surgical slush without bending, flexing or breaking.” Typical disk materials disclosed in these patents include polycarbonate, acronitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, polymethylmethacrylate, rigid polyvinylchloride, rigid polyurethane, nylon, polyethylene, polystyrene, and other rigid thermoplastics capable of being machined, thermoformed, or injection molded to the desired shape.